WASHINGTON D.C.

Every summer, AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students) chapters from all over the U.S. come to Washington D.C. for a conference called Grassroots. This conference gives students the opportunity to acquire more knowledge and abilities in the architecture profession and further expand their network with other students and firms. The conference lasted three days and was during the week of the fourth of July, so we extended our trip an extra three days to have fun and explore the city. The last time I was in D.C. was for a school field trip during 8th grade that lasted a few days and I faintly remember my surroundings, so it was nice to come back.

My friends and I spent our days before the conference exploring all of the museums, touring the National Mall, and eating a lot of food. The food in D.C. is delicious, a few recommendations I have are as follows… For an amazing deep dish pizza – Pi Pizzeria. An exquisite and authentic Italian cuisine – Toscana. A place to cool off and get some ice cream – Dolcezza Gelato. For some yummy noodles – Noodles on 11th. A bar for drinks and little bites of food – Proper 21, I recommend the Proper truffle fries, they are soooooo good! Just about anywhere you eat in D.C., there will be some good meals! The last few days were spent at the conference where they catered to us.

Grassroots was interesting. At first, I wasn’t enjoying some of the lectures, but towards the end of the conference they got better and I could relate to them and see some insight towards my future as an architecture student. I definitely would go again because the conference exposes you to so many different opportunities and really gave my friends and I some new ideas to strengthen our own AIAS chapter.

This trip was super fun and I’m so happy I got to go with my friends and boyfriend! 🙂 More summer trips are coming!